Roofing and siding sheets and the like

ABSTRACT

A roofing sheet having wide-based ribs, a lateral male rib having means for interlocking with an overlying lateral female rib of a neighboring sheet, the male rib having a fixing channel for securing the rib to a structural member. There are also described clips to act as concealed fixings for intermediate wide-based ribs, the clips having means to engage an internal pocket or pockets in the rib.

nited States Patent Cookson 1 Sept. 12, 1972 [54] ROOFING AND SIDINGSHEETS AND 3,524,292 8/1970 Bottom ..52/536 THE LIKE G P [72] Inventor:William Cookson, Fareham, En- FORE! N ATENTS OR APPLICATIONS gland 910,!10 9/1962 Great Britain .52/520 [73] AssigneeZ Cookson Sheet MetalDevelopments 984,l36 2/l965 Great Britain ..'..52/520 Limited PrimaryExaminer-John E. Murtagh [22] Ffled: 1970 AttorneyAbraham Engel andHoward J. .Churchill [21] Appl. No.: 89,165

57 AB TRACT Related US. Application Data 1 S A roofing sheet havingwide-based ribs, a lateral male [62] 3 2 5 52 2 2 1969 rib having meansfor interlocking with an overlying a lateral female rib of a neighboringsheet, the male rib [52] US. Cl ..52/531 having a fixing channel forSecuring the rib to a [51] Int. Cl. ..E04d 1/06 tural member- There area described clips to act as 5 Field f Search 52 519 520 521 529 531concealed fixings for intermediate wide-based ribs, the 52/536-538, 545,543, 478 clips having means to engage an internal pocket or pockets inthe rib. [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS l l 9 1 O l-lale..52/531 7 Claims, 12 Drawing Figures PATENTED SEP 1 2 I972 SHEET 2 BF 4PATENTEDSEPJZIQYZ 3.690.085 SHEET u (If 4 noormo AND SIDING SHEETS ANDTHE LIKE This application is divided on application Ser. No. 800,835,filed Feb. 17, 1969, now US. Pat. No. 3,606,720.

This invention relates to roofing and siding sheets and the like andassemblies thereof. It relates especially to sheets which may be securedto structural members by concealed fastening means.

Difficulties have been experienced in designing satisfactory means ofsecuring ribbed sheets of light gauge material to structural memberswithout perforating the sheets. This has particularly applied to sheetshaving the ribs which may be described as wide-based, that is to say,having side walls which make angles below about 45 with the plane of thesheet because these shapes are unable to accept and retain spring actionlocking means to securely fasten the ribs to the structural members.Various forms of spring action fastening means have been proposed tosecure the overlapping ribs of adjacent sheets along their length andalso to secure ribs to structural members. Such fastening means haveoften led to failure of the fixings through wind suction loading becausethe wind can lift the sheets sufficiently to spring off the fasteningmeans, the sheets as a consequence being sucked off the build- It is anobject-of this invention to provide-improved means for securing togetheroverlying ribs of adjacent roofing or siding sheets and to provide meansfor positi vely securing the ribs together. It is another object toprovide the underlying, male, rib with a fixing channel by means ofwhich the male rib may be secured to a structural member.

A further object is to provide assemblies of roofing and siding sheetsand the like.

The term roofing and siding sheet (or roofing or siding sheet) includesroofing, siding and other cladding sheets and panels.

According to this invention there is provided a roofing or siding sheetof sheet material having at opposite edges an upstanding hollow male riband an upstanding hollow female rib, the male rib having at its outeredge a free downwardly and outwardly directed lip and at its inner edgean external outwardly and downwardly directed pocket formed by a doublereverse fold in the material, and between said pocket and said lip achannel having a base to abut against and be fixed to a structuralmember, the female rib having at its outer edge a hook with a freeinwardly and upwardly directed hook end and at its inner edge aninternal upwardly and inwardly directed pocket formed by a doublereverse fold in the material, whereby when the said female rib is placedover and pressed towards the said male rib of an identical neighboringsheet, the said lip of the male rib is capable of locking by asnap-action into the said pocket of the female rib and the said hook endof the female rib is capable of locking by a snap-action into the saidpocket of the male rib, thereby securing the two ribs to each other.

In this specification and claims the term upstanding as applied to a ribof a sheet indicates that the rib, in comparison with surrounding areasof the sheet, stands away from the surface or structure to which thesheet is applied in use. The terms inner and outer as applied to the ribedges refer to the edges of the rib respectively further from and nearerto the lateral edge of the sheet. The terms inwardly and outwardly referto the directions respectively towards and away from the volume enclosedby the rib. The terms internal and external applied to pockets of therib are descriptive respectively of a pocket having its walls formed bythe face of the sheet which bounds the volume enclosed by the rib and apocket formed by the other face of the sheet from that which bounds thevolume enclosed by the rib. The terms upwardly and downwardly" refer tothe directions respectively away from and towards the surface orstructure to which the sheet is applied in use.

There is also provided an assembly comprising a number of like sheets asabove set out locked together by interengagement of the respective maleand female ribs.

There is further provided a roofing or siding sheet having male andfemale ribs as above set out having a rib intermediate the rib edgeswith at lest one pocket adapted to be secured by a fastening clip. Theintermediate rib may have two side wallswith a pocket provided at thebase of both walls. Fastening clips as subsequently described may beassembled in the ribs of a roofing or siding sheet as above described inthe factory without the clips interfering with the nesting together ofthe sheets for transport purposes. Subsequently camming means of theclips may be operated, e.g. the fixing plates as above mentioned arebent downwardly from the sheets on the roof of a building and secured topurlins. In this manner, roofing or siding sheets with assembled clipsobviate the transport costs incurred when transporting clips as aseparate item and they also save assembly time on the site.

Various forms of the invention will be described with reference to theaccompanying drawings wherein:

I FIG. 1 is a part perspective view of a roofing sheet assembly; f

FIG. 2 is a cross-section view of the male and female ribs of a sheetbefore assembly;

FIG. 3 is a cross-section view of the male and female rib afterassembly;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a form of rib clip and fastening strap;

FIG. 5 is a part perspective view of the fastening strap secured to asheet and purlin with the rib clip in the non-operative position;

FIG. 6 is an end view of the rib and rib clip before assembly;

FIG. 7 is an end view of the rib and clip after assembly;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged part end view of the rotatable device shown inFIG. 5 after assembly;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of another form of rib clip;

FIG. 10 is a part perspective view of a rib of a sheet with assembledrib clip;

FIG. 11 is a view, broken for clarity, of the rib and clip shown in FIG.10 fixed to a wood purlin; and

FIG. 12 is a view, broken for clarity, of the rib shown in FIG. 11 fixedto a steel purlin.

In FIG. 1 a roofing sheet 10 is made from sheet metal, plastics, orother suitable material. It comprises a male rib 12 at one lateral edgeof the sheet, a female rib 14 at the opposite lateral edge of the sheetand an intermediate rib 16, all being wide-based ribs as above definedand being separated by planar areas of the sheet. Male rib 12 includes afixing channel 18. A neighboring sheet is shown with its male rib 12which is similar to rib l2 interlocked with female rib 14 of sheet 10.Screws or nails through fixing channels 18 secure the ribs 12 and 12' towood purlin 22, see also FIG. 2.

Details of' the assembly of the intermediate rib 16 with a purlin clipare shown in FIGS. 7, l1 and 12 subsequently described.

In FIGS. 1 and 2 male rib 12' comprises slanting walls 24 and 32, aninner wall 26, a base wall 28 coplanar with the planar areas of thesheet, and an outer wall 30, slanting wall 32 being in the form of anoutwardly and downwardly directed flange 32 with a stiffening head 34.Walls 26, 28 and 30 provide the fixing channel 18. The free edge of theflange 32 forms a lip 33. At the base the inner of slanting wall 24 isformed an internal pocket, which affords outwardly a bead 38, and anexternal downwardly and outwardly directed pocket 40. Bead 38 and pocket40 provide engagement means. Female rib 14 comprises an inner slantingwall 42, a top wall 44 and a semi-resilient outer wall 46, having a lip48 in the form of an inwardly turning hook providing an inwardly andupwardly directed hook end 50. At the base of slanting wall 42 isprovided an internal upwardly and inwardly directed pocket 52.

Intermediate rib 16 in FIGS. 1, 6, 7 and 10 comprises, as indicated inFIG. 1, two slanting walls 54 and 56 and a top wall 58. In the base ofslanting walls 54 and 56 are provided identical pockets 60, 62.

In FIGS. 4 and 5 a rib clip 64 is made of sheet metal or other suitablematerial; this type of concealed fixing clip is suitable for fixing theroofing and siding sheets to structural members or to flat surfaceswhere there is no access to the fixings behind the sheets. Clip 64comprises a base wall 66 and an overlapping semi-resilient wall 68inclined at an angle to the base wall (FIG. 4 shows the walls widelyangled for clarity). Base wall 66 has provided on one end a hemmednailing flange 70 and combined locking and camming means 72 comprising astrip bent upwardly from the base wall and comprising a vertical wall74, a slanting portion 76, a top wall 78 and a springy free wall 80which has a free edge or lip 82 (see FIGS. 4 and 8). Semi-resilient wall68 has provided on one end seating means 84, comprising a reversiblybent wall 86, and a slanting wall 88. Provided on wall 88 is adownwardly directed flange 90 which provides a first hinge part 92 tobear downwardly on to the surface of wall 68 and to assist in therotation of first latching means 94 subsequently described. Wall 68immediately behind flange 90 has a three-sided slot 96 and an upturnedflange 98 which provides a second hinge part 100 (See cut away portionin FIG. 4). At each end of flange 98 are provided hinge portions 89.

Immediately in front of flange 90 is provided a threesided slot 102which is formed in a position to pass over the camming and locking means72 and which provides the material for the first latching means 94.Latching means 94 which are formed integrally with the wall 68 compriseas seen in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 walls 104 and 106 and a latching flange 108.Slot 102 has an edge 103 which provides means for engagement by the lip82 of locking means 72.

Second latching means in the form of a latching ledge 110 is provided inwall 68 comprising as indicated in FIG. 7 a vertical wall 112, and a topwall 114 formed out ofa three-sided slot 1 16.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5 an extension portion of wall 68 provides alocating and fixing strap 118 on the end of which is provided locatingmeans 120 comprising a slanting wall 122 of double metal thickness, basewall 124 and slanting wall 126 (shown in dotted lines in FIG. 5).Semi-resilient wall 68 with its extension portion is preferably securedto base wall by an eyelet device 128 or by riveting or spot welding.Eyelet device 128 also provides a fixing hole 130 for a nail or screw,similar holes 132 and 134 being provided in nailing flange 70 and basewall 124 respectively and providing means for securing the clip 64 to astructural member.

To assemble the roofing sheets 10 and 10' to purlin 22 as shown in FIG.1 the fixing'channel of the male ,rib 12 of the sheet 10 (or, in anotherexample, the fixing channel of a part sheet) is first screwed or nailedto the purlin. The procedure for securing the rib clip is omitted atthis stage for clarity. Female rib 14 is next downwardly pressed towardsmale rib 12' (see FIG. 2) until hook end of female rib 14 latches overbead 38 and into external pocket 40. At the same time pocket 52 offemale rib 14 rides down over flange 32 of latching means 36 and the lip33 springs into pocket 52 as shown in FIG. 3. In this manner the femaleand male ribs are securely locked together and cannot part through windsuction loading on the surface of the sheet.

In FIG. 5 is shown the method of securing an intermediate rib to apurlin. The end portion of a sheet 10' has the locating means 120 offixing strap 118 (shown by dotted lines) inserted under fixing channel18' of male rib 12' and the rib and strap are secured by a nail or screw136 to the purlin. Similarly nails or screws 138 and 140 secure thestrap and base wall through holes 132 and 130. The female rib 14 of thenext sheet 10 is then clipped on to male rib 12 as previously explained.Intermediate rib 16 is thus positioned over rib clip 64 as shown in FIG.6 with a portion 142 of the sheet seated on seating means 84 and wall104 oflatching means 94 seated on slanting wall 76 of the combinedcamming and locking means 72. Intermediate rib 16 is next presseddownwardly on to rib clip 64 causing semiresilient wall 68 to approachbase wall 66 and slanting wall 76 to bear on wall 104 to rotate latchingmeans 94 about hinge portions 89 which bend until latching flange 108latches into pocket 62 of rib 16. At the same time, semi-springy wall 80of locking means 72 is sprung inwardly of locking means 72 as edge 103of slot 96 bears against it until walls 66 and 68 are closed togetherwhen lip 82 springs through the slot and locates over the surface ofwall 68. In this manner (see FIGS. 7 and 8) walls 66 and 68 are fastenedtogether with locking means 72 holding securely latching means 94 inengagement with pocket 62 of the rib. The latching means areadditionally secured by upturned flange 98 beneath the hinge part 92 offlange 90 (see FIG. 8).

The rib is simultaneously secured to the rib clip by flange 114 oflatching ledge 110 which snaps over edge 146 of pocket 60 and into saidpocket thereby engaging the edge 146.

Provision of the fixing strap 118 with its locating means 120 enablesthe rib clip 64 to be positioned correctly to receive the rib 16 beforethe sheet is brought into place. The length of the strap is such thatthe first and second latching means of the clip will be at the desireddistance form the male rib 12 of the neighboring sheet (and hence thedesired distance from the interengaging female rib 14) to locatecorrectly in the pockets 62,60 of the intermediate rib 16. The correctpositioning of a concealed fastening clip when there is no access orinsufficient access to it when the sheet is being brought into place hasproved a difficult problem to overcome but the clip as shown in FIG. 4provides an answer to the difficulty.

In FIGS. 9, l0, l1 and 12 is shown another form of fixing clip 148 forsecuring sheet 10 to a purlin or other structural member. Clip 148 ismade of sheet metal or other suitable material and it comprises a basewall 150 and two inclined semi-springy side walls 152. Base wall 150 hasan extension comprising a wall with overlapping and folded down sideportions 158 comprising a fixing plate 160. One end of the fixing plate160 has a lip 162 and the other end has camming means 164 comprising atongue 166, overlying the base wall 150. One end 168 of base wall 150provides a hinge line 170 (shown dotted in FIG. 9). Fixing holes 172 and174 are provided in the fixing plate 160. In the wall 150 are positionedtwo internal stiffening beads 176.

Rib clip 148 has its side walls 152 made at a slightly more open angleto each other and to the base wall 150 than the angle of the side wallsof the intermediate rib 16 to each other and to the top wall of the ribso that when the rib clip 148 is inserted into the pockets 60 and 62 atone end of rib 16 there is sufficient spring tension of the walls of theclip against the rib walls to prevent too easy sliding movement oftheclip in the rib. Roofing sheet 10 may have a plurality of ribs in eachof which are carried a number of rib clips at such positions that theymay be secured to purlins on the roof. Sheets are packed together fortransport in the usual manner as the inserted clips do not interferewith the nesting of the ribs together.

On the roof ofa building the sheets are assembled on the purlins aspreviously explained and fixing plate 160 of each rib clip 148 is bentdownwardly at hinge line 170 by grasping and pulling down the lip 162.In the process the camming means 164 rotates upwardly and bears tightlyon the underside of the top wall of the rib 16 so causing the side walls152 to move down further into pockets 60 and 62 of rib 16, thus becomingsecurely engaged and locked in the pockets. Thus rib clip 148 Cannotrattle in rib 16 when sheet 10 is subjected to wind loading. The lockingbetween the clip and rib, however, is not made so tight as to prevent alimited amount of sliding of the clip in the rib when the rib issubjected to thermal movement.

In. FIG. 11 rib clip 148 is shown secured by a nail 178 through hole 174in fixing plate 160, to a wood purlin 180. The concealed fastening ofthe clip in the rib provides a leak proof connection with an unmarredouter surface of the rib, a particularly valuable feature when sheetsare made from pre-painted materials. The pre-drilled hole 174 provides amuch quicker fastening method than when holes have to be punched throughthe top of the rib as in conventional methods of fixing roofing sheetsand damage which can arise from such processes is completely eliminated.

In FIG. 12, the fastening clip 148 locked in rib 16 is shown secured toa metal purlin 182. A standard hook bolt 184 has its hook 186 insertedinto the hole 172 of rib clip 148 and its threaded end 188 is fittedwith a nut 190 to secure an attachment clip 192 to purlin 180, thusholding the purlin and rib clip in secure contact.

In this manner the rib clip can be used either for bolting it to steelor nailing it to wood structures to provide a positive fixing of theroofing sheet to the building.

It will be understood that the invention may be embodied in many formsof sheets and panels, particularly in the building industry. I

What is claimed is:

1. A roofing or siding sheet of sheet material having at opposite edgesan upstanding hollow male rib and an upstanding hollow female rib, themale rib having at its outer edge a free downwardly and outwardlydirected lip and at its inner edge an external outwardly and downwardlydirected pocket formed by a double reverse fold in the material, andbetween said pocket and said lip a channel having a base to abut againstand be fixed to a structural member, the female rib having at its outeredge a hook with a free inwardly and upwardly directed hook end and atits inner edge an internal upwardly and inwardly directed pocket formedby a double reverse fold in the material, whereby when the said femalerib is placed over and pressed towards the said male rib of an identicalneighboring sheet, the said lip of the male rib is capable oflocking bya snap-action into the said pocket of the female rib and the said hookend of the female rib is capable oflocking by a snap-action into thesaid pocket of the male rib, thereby securing the two ribs to eachother.

2. A sheet according to claim 1 wherein the male rib has at its outerside a downwardly and outwardly directed flange, the outer part of whichforms the said lip, there being a stiffening bead in the flange adjacentthe said lip.

3. A sheet according to claim 1 having at least one substantial planararea from which the said ribs are upstanding the female rib havingflanks slanting relative to the said planar areas, the said hook andpocket of the female rib being at the base of the said flanks, the malerib having at its inner side a flank slanting relative to the saidplanar area, the said pocket of the male rib being at the base of thatflank.

4. A sheet according to claim 3 wherein the said flanks of the femalerib and the said flank of the male rib make angles less then 45 with thesaid planar area.

5. A sheet according to claim 3 wherein the said flanks of the femalerib are joined by a top wall and the said channel of the male rib isbetween the said flank of the male rib and the said lip of the male rib,the said base of the channel being co-planar with the said planar area.

6. An assembly comprising a plurality of sheets in accordance with claim1 locked together by interengagement of respective said male and femaleribs.

7. A sheet according to claim 1 having an upstanding rib intermediatethe said male and female ribs, having at least one internal pocketsuitable for engagement by a fastening clip.

1. A roofing or siding sheet of sheet material having at opposite edgesan upstanding hollow male rib and an upstanding hollow female rib, themale rib having at its outer edge a free downwardly and outwardlydirected lip and at its inner edge an external outwardly and downwardlydirected pocket formed by a double reverse fold in the material, andbetween said pocket and said lip a channel having a base to abut againstand be fixed to a structural member, the female rib having at its outeredge a hook with a free inwardly and upwardly directed hook end and atits inner edge an internal upwardly and inwardly directed pocket formedby a double reverse fold in the material, whereby when the said femalerib is placed over and pressed towards the said male rib of an identicalneighboring sheet, the said lip of the male rib is capable of locking bya snap-action into the said pocket of the female rib and the said hookend of the female rib is capable of locking by a snap-action into thesaid pocket of the male rib, thereby securing the two ribs to eachother.
 2. A sheet according to claim 1 wherein the male rib has at itsouter side a downwardly and outwardly directed flange, the outer part ofwhich forms the said lip, there being a stiffening bead in the flangeadjacent the said lip.
 3. A sheet according to claim 1 having at leastone substantial planar area from which the said ribs are upstanding thefemale rib having flanks slanting relative to the said planar areas, thesaid hook and pocket of the female rib being at the base of the saidflanks, the male rib having at its inner side a flank slanting relativeto the said planar area, the said pocket of the male rib being at thebase of that flank.
 4. A sheet according to claim 3 wherein the saidflanks of the female rib and the said flank of the male rib make anglesless then 45* with the said planar area.
 5. A sheet according to claim 3wherein the said flanks of the female rib are joined by a top wall andthe said channel of the male rib is between the said flank of the malerib and the said lip of the male rib, the said base of the channel beingco-planar with the said planar area.
 6. An assembly comprising aplurality of sheets in accordance with claim 1 locked together byinterengagement of respective said male and female ribs.
 7. A sheetaccording to claim 1 having an upstanding rib intermediate the said maleand female ribs, having at least one internal pocket suitable forengagement by a fastening clip.